Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 61: Cosmic Level Powerhouse, Terrifying as Such (Three More - s, Please Follow)

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Cosmic Level Powerhouse, Terrifying as Such (Three More Chapters, Please Follow)

"Senior, I think you might have met your match this time."

Tang Qianqian rarely showed a serious expression. She supported Duan Mingyuan emotionally without condition, but the title of cosmic-level guard was truly intimidating. "Those employees told me that every security personnel who manages to get a job at the headquarters is an outstanding individual from various planets, often spotted by the company at a young age and given specialized training."

As she spoke, she took out her phone and used the information she gathered from the internet to support her claims, "Currently, it’s widely believed that the combat strength of Universe Company’s subsidiary security departments has far surpassed what’s recognized as a militarized force in conventional understanding. To become a bodyguard for someone at Bai Kou’s level, they usually would have become the chief in charge of a region by Yang Ping’s age."

What rank is the chief in charge of Yunlong City’s security department?

On par with Fu Ling, and moreover, they are in charge of one of the most important departments in the company.

If we were to use the theory Senior proposed, that means they would have been promoted to senior positions by the age Yang Ping is now!

"But that’s only the beginning of their legendary lives. After being transferred to the headquarters, these elites selected from different planets are sent to real battlefields, where they fight life and death battles. Killing is as common to them as eating. According to the company’s regulations, new recruits must have experienced at least five battles before there’s a chance of them being called back to headquarters."

Universe Company claims that they have always been dedicated to resolving calamities that occur between different star systems, always waving the banner of peace and friendship, willing to share their achievements with every civilization they discover because the company was established by different civilizations from the start.

There exist in the universe some planets that are beyond salvation, devoured by calamities like viruses, turned into hells where suffering abounds and demons run rampant.

The company defines these planets as "Cocoons," seeing them as cradles that breed demons.

While suppressing the spread of calamities, their main battlegrounds are these completely mutated planets.

"In other words, Bai Kou’s personal guards are veterans who have at least experienced five major wars, returning from the front lines of cosmic battlefields! Their armor is custom-tailored by Universe Company according to their individual combat styles, to enable them to adapt to any environment and overcome any form of demon. The tree-branch-like insignia on their shoulders is the highest reward the company gives to these veterans. For this reason, they are also bestowed with the title ’Long Branch,’ symbolizing the company’s bridge to healing those mutated civilizations."

Without a doubt, Bai Kou’s personal guard was one among the ’Long Branch.’

"Every ’Long Branch’ member appears before others clad in armor that conceals their face, their identities are kept in the highest secrecy by Universe Company, and no one knows their pasts, so I could only gather this kind of general explanation from them."

But one thing is for sure, every piece of description points to the same fact—the members of ’Long Branch’ are cosmic-level powerhouses.

That also reflects the strength of Universe Company; their resources span across star systems, capable of recruiting the most talented and gifted individuals from various planets.

Tang Qianqian was convinced that Duan Mingyuan was a formidable force in Yunlong City and even on this planet, but what if the scope was expanded to the entire star system or the universe?

Unlike the battle-hardened veterans of ’Long Branch,’ Senior had never been on the battlefield and had also spent the most precious time of growth in school and work. Even if Senior originally had the potential to become a cosmic-level powerhouse, the gap had gradually widened due to the wastage of too much time.

However, with the filter of hope, she still liked to believe that if it really came to blows, Senior could have an even fight with these cosmic-level powerhouses.

After listening to Tang Qianqian’s narrative, Duan Mingyuan appeared equally grave, "If that’s the case, there’s not much point in holding an academic symposium."

Even though Bai Kou’s personal guard seemed very difficult to get along with, for the robust growth of the new generation, he had originally planned to find an opportunity to discuss academic issues with the other party.

Putting aside the issue of talent for a moment, the armor custom-made by the Universe Company’s research and development department sounded incredibly valuable, something they couldn’t consider given their currently strained financial situation.

Money can buy power.

This saying holds true outside the world of games as well.

It seems that the universe indeed is filled with powerhouses. According to Tang Qianqian’s description, if one were to lay out the experiences of every ’Long Branch’ member, each would appear as a legend, akin to the ’protagonist’ in a novel, and only such a personality would get noticed by the company and manage to turn the tide in hostile environments.

"The gap is indeed too vast."

Duan Mingyuan nodded.

"Senior, don’t lose heart. For those who have never left Yunlong City, you are already..."

"It would be very difficult for you to catch up with them in a short period."

"...Ah?"

Duan Mingyuan’s murmur left Tang Qianqian dumbfounded. She wondered if she had misheard, realizing that Senior wasn’t thinking about himself but rather considering getting her and interns like Yang Ping onto the cosmic stage?

Impossible!

If their previous experiences were considered as plots of a fictional work, they would still be at the stage where they hadn’t even figured out the newbie village.

Theoretically, cosmic-level powerhouses shouldn’t even appear in their field of vision; those are matters to consider much later in the story.

Duan Mingyuan explained, "With the current finances of the organization, it’s quite improbable to afford custom-made armors for you, and our technology and knowledge are lacking too."

But this opened up a new line of thought.

Someday when he had thoroughly studied Universe Company’s technology, he could also craft armor for the new generation, arming them appropriately.

However, given his current relationship with the company, they probably wouldn’t be willing to share their cutting-edge technology with him.

Moreover, even if the top scientists in the universe handed him the formulas, he still wouldn’t understand them.

This was his current shortfall in capabilities.

Merely thinking about ’invincible armor’ was not enough; he must understand every detail of the armor and be able to explain from a knowledge base why it is invincible.

The road ahead is long, and he must keep up with the times, continually learning.

Seeing the topic about ’cosmic-level powerhouses’ came to a close, Jiuyue spoke up, "Then what is the ’Seventh Class Energy Source Conference’ about?"

"I don’t know about that. That’s a strategy only the higher-ups of the company would know," Duan Mingyuan shrugged. It was impossible for bottom-rung workers like them to access such crucial core secrets. "But from the sound of it, it seems like they’re planning to harvest some kind of new energy from our planet."